RITES OF PASSAGE
(The Slutty Crone)
By Aleq de Satyr
Intro:
I have been involved in many worthwhile endeavors over the years. One of them is Community outreach/adult education programs where I meet and interact with older women, "Cougars" if you will. Predominantly white... They are progressive, radical feminist/activists with an undying desire for an alternative lifestyle...I have a lot in common with them.
They are mostly women who came of age in the 80's.They are heterosexual, bisexual or lesbian... Some are Pagans/Wiccans. They do not hesitate to drop their masks and talk explicitly about their adventures and disappointments, their dreams and fulfillments, their longings and their desires...To celebrate themselves in intimate camaraderie, with booze, pot and food; with lots of fun and laughter.
They are trying to find ways of transcending the cultural constraints which seem to limit their actions and self-esteem as older women, as well as the intensity of their sexual desires and their ability to delight in it or lament the lack of it...It is indeed liberating to watch them, listen to them and to interact with them...
They are deeply sexual, indifferent, but not celibate...Some are outrageous and radical, others conventional. Some serious others humorous...They are single, married, divorced or widowed...All with their own strategies for surviving this currently toxic and reactionary culture...They have hope, courage and self-love...Some of them are women who have taken and continue to take the wildest chances and seem pleased with their lives...
This piece is the first true chronicle on one of these women, Ysabel of Macedonian ancestry, culled from my Archives titled:
"In Praise of the Amazing Older Woman"
...Other chronicles will follow soon (ADS).
Prologue
"Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Do not resist, that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like"...
Lao Tsu
A rite of passage is a ceremony and marks the transition from one phase of life to another. Although it is often used to describe the tumultuous transition from adolescence to adulthood, it does refer to any of life's transitions (Births and Beginnings, Initiations, Partnersips, and Endings or Death). There are many passages in our lives if we choose to mark and celebrate them.